Now that the whirl wind of the festive period has all but disappeared from rear view mirror like a tinsel wrapped T-Rex, and I begin the search for the new me that 2019 seems to have promised, here is a summary one of the busiest parts of my year.
If we were to go from the beginning, my Christmas starts on the 25th of November, that being the case that my birthday is out of the way and the first of the countless festive sales events begin. What is important to note is that we started shopping for Christmas in February, as this is the time of year you can pick up a heartfelt bottle of Lynx Africa (not an ad by the way) for about 20p. These then take up the very little and precious space we have at our flat for the next 11 months. Next we actually hit December and I watch as the final square footage is taken over by parcels and pine needles. Best deal of the year goes to picking up an 8 foot artificial tree from the display items for £12, however it did nearly poke a hole through the ceiling.
As I pack away my seemingly Grinch-esque persona for another year, I'd like to make clear that I am a huge fan of Christmas, it's just that it lasts too long. Even now as I write this shops are still dismantling decorations and retail workers are still being blasted by "Now that’s what I call Christmas". What it should be called is "Now that’s what I call a breach of the Human Rights Act". It's relentless. The worst thing at this point is to fight it, for the sake of being accused of being unseasonal. Its better to cellotape the corners of your mouth into a permanent grin, drink to the socially accepted excess and put on 2 stone in Turkey sandwiches.
The best lesson I’ve learned from this year is to make sure that you make a specific effort to take about an hour away from everyone. It's not antisocial, no matter what your mother says. Make an excuse or even better, don’t tell anyone you're disappearing. When you take this extra step for yourself you not only refuel on patience but also on the appreciation of going back to a room of people who care about you. Just one of the things I'm dragging into the new year.
Speaking of which, 2019 is completely out of the starting block and the aim was to make it as good a start as possible. In comparison to Christmas where we were on the receiving end of as many new things as we had given, the first week was mostly dedicated to letting go. Even during our multiple house moves over the last 8 years, I can safely say that we have never had such a purge of household items as we have so far this year. The inspiration of this: a new series on Netflix called "The Joy Tidying with Marie Kondo".... now I know what your thinking, what a rockstar lifestyle. The basic premise is to confront yourself with the items you own and if it doesn’t give you Joy then you let it go. 8 binbags, 3 boxes and a few random piles of clothes, books, DVD's, old paperwork and (to be honest) rubbish that either went to the tip or is ready for carboot season. We have not gone to some weird minimalist cult lifestyle, but having the room to breath in our home has given us the best start to 2019 we could have asked for.
In summary, make time for yourself, keep the things that give you joy and if you are looking for the new you for this new year, don’t lose the parts that got you this far.
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